Reasons
by USCJCF
Summary: “She had dreamed of telling him this news so many million times. …She’d just never dreamed of it being now.” An Andi story, with a healthy dose of Andi/Toby, of course.


_Reasons_

By Julia   
May 2003

**Rating:** Um, PG, I guess.

**Summary:** "She had dreamed of telling him this news so many million times. …She'd just never dreamed of it being now." An Andi story, with a healthy dose of Andi/Toby, of course.

**Spoilers: **Through "25".

  
**Disclaimer: **I didn't create them. Actually, I did create a couple of them. But really, this is Aaron's universe, and we're all the better for that. I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing them.

**Author's Note: **I've never done anything like this before. I hope I've done it right, and I would really love to hear what people think. Email makes me smile. =)

Apologies for anything that looks weird (like the big spaces). Posting here has been challenging.

Big thanks to Nomad and Tracy, who are awesome beta readers; to Brian, who loves me even when I do crazy stuff like this; and to the denizens of the Meet Market at TWoP, who sure know a lot about baby showers.

__________________________________________________________________________________________  


**~*~ August ~*~**

She always acknowledged her interns.

A president could not be expected to keep track of all the interns around the White House. Even a senator would have a fairly good excuse. But a congresswoman? She refused to think of herself as that important.

She was proud to say that she knew the names of all her interns. After all, they weren't getting paid for this – knowing their names was the least she could do.

"Melissa! How's the office today?"

The pony-tailed college student looked up from the copy machine she was operating. "Just wonderful, Congresswoman Wyatt. Everybody says you're going to win the election with no trouble at all!"

"Right in the thick of things there, are you?"

"Uh… I'm, uh, keeping up with the photocopies, ma'am."

"Andi." None of the interns would ever call her by her first name, but that wasn't going to stop her from suggesting it. "That's an important job, Melissa. That's why you're making the big bucks."

With that, she breezed on through to her own desk, leaving Melissa chuckling to herself as she continued making copies.

This was a good day. Some days she wanted to tell those interns to run far, far away from this world in which she operated. _Don't get into politics. Nothing good will ever come of it. Being in politics is like ramming your head into a brick wall, backing up, and running head on into it again. Over and over again._ But this, she thought proudly, was not one of those days.

Oh, sure, there were plenty of reasons why it could be one of those days. The House of Representatives was in its summer recess, and that meant two things: fundraising and campaigning. Usually in that order. Apparently her first-rate staff was completely oblivious to the fact that she had no opposition in the upcoming elections. She hated fundraising. 

But today? Today she was convinced that even that evil was for a greater political good. She was a member of congress, and she was making the world a better place. The Democratic Party was riding high on the rousing success of its convention. A recent spat with a congressman from North Carolina had been favorably reported by the Maryland press. The local police department had just cracked a decades old extortion case.

_See? There are a thousand reasons why today is a good day! It's got nothing to do with Toby._

__

Her administrative assistant ("Andi's Leo", her White House friends always joked) had been her best friend since sophomore year at Columbia University. Her name was Sandy, and she always remembered Toby's "Sandy and Andi and Sandy and Andi… and I'm going to kill myself."

Not like Toby was the only one who'd ever done that, she reminded herself._ Everyone thinks it's amusing! Everyone!_

"Good morning, Andi!" Sandy called from the open door of her office.

"'Morning, Sandy!" she replied. "What wonderful things does the district office bring me today?"

Her old friend eyed her suspiciously as she rose from her desk to meet Andi in the doorway. "You're awfully chipper today."

Andi just smiled.

Sandy continued, "Many of your constituents seem to honestly think that your office should be congratulated for the work of the Greenbelt Police Department."

"Hey, the House isn't in session… I'll take all the compliments I can get!"

"Well, you should get plenty today. You remember you're giving a speech for the Women's Action League of Southern Maryland at three pm, right?"

"Of course I remember. As long as I have you people working out all the details, I have no problem remembering the dates and times." Andi jabbed her lightly on the shoulder.

"You are definitely in too good of a mood for the middle of August and eighty-nine percent humidity." Sandy pulled her boss into her office and closed the door. "Are you seeing someone?"

Suddenly very self-conscious, Andi grinned sheepishly, rocking back and forth a little on her heels.

"You are!" Sandy paused. "Tell me it's not that smarmy lawyer from the gym."

"This is a serious office, Sandy. I have serious work to do." She flashed another grin at her best friend and swept out the door.

Her district field worker, Marc, was waiting for her when she entered her own office. "'Morning, chief," he said, waving at his boss. "I have a thing for you."

"What's up?"

"I got a phone call last night from a college kid trying to get your thoughts on U.S. policy toward Brazil. She said she'd contacted the Washington office several times and not gotten a reply. My guess is they didn't have a brief on it. I told her I'd take it to you today. Seriously though, who cares about U.S. policy toward Brazil?"

"I care about U.S. policy toward every country. And since – last time I checked – we're all citizens of the U.S. here, maybe everybody else should too. While we're at it, you aren't that far beyond 'college kid' yourself, mister."

He ducked his head and lowered his voice apologetically. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled. "When the people I'm paying are nearly twenty years younger than me, I have to take whatever shots I can get. I'll take care of the question – do you have it written out?"

Marc handed her the paper he had been holding. "Here you go."

"Great. Anything else I need to know about?"

"Jennifer's got the day off today to visit her sister in Boston. Better hope there won't be any major press crises to deal with."

Jennifer Kasselman was Andi's press secretary extraordinaire. It was always much more comfortable when she was dealing with anything and everything related to Andi and the media. "Does that mean you're covering publicity for the speech tonight?" Andi asked Marc.

"That's exactly what it means."

"God help us."

Marc just grinned. "Anything else?"

"Not unless you have anything else for me."

"Not yet, chief. Thanks!" Marc gave her a little salute as he exited her office. And just like that, her day had begun.

_Recess? What recess?_

*

"They told me to remember that this wasn't a campaign speech. But with the elections three months away, I can't possibly finish without asking for your votes. Thank you all for the work you do for Maryland!"

The audience applauded wildly, making her wish she weren't leaving right away. She'd always loved an energetic crowd. "The consummate politician," Toby would always say. 

_You know you wouldn't have it any other way._

Sandy and Marc met her as she stepped down from the podium. "These guys hired a driver for you – he's waiting out back," Marc told them.

"Remind me why we're racing out of here?" Andi inquired.

"Um, because you've been schmoozing with these gals for over three hours?" came Marc's reply.

"And just what is wrong with that?"

Sandy was quick to intervene as they walked toward the car. "I redid some of the scheduling today. You and I are going to dinner, as the best friends we've been for far longer than I care to calculate."

"And Marc here?" She ducked into the front seat of the car, as Marc and Sandy took their places in the back seat.

"I'm pretending that this really is a nine to five job." Marc glanced at his watch. "Ok, so a nine to six job. That's closer, at any rate. I'm going to party like the twenty-three-year-old college grad that I am."

"Hit him." Andi commanded her assistant. "Do it now."

The back of the car quickly reduced itself to a mild physical quarrel. Andi observed amusedly from the front. She really did love this job some days.

*

"Come. On. Do I need to remind you how long we've known each other?"

"Watch it, Sandy!" She was honestly afraid her best friend was about to pour a glass of wine over her head.

"I'll do it. I swear to God I will."

"That's exactly what I'm concerned about."

"Seriously, Andi. Stop being a politician for one night and give me the scoop on your personal life."

"There's no scoop!" she protested.

"Yeah, sure there's not."

Andi twirled her fork through the pasta on her plate. Finally she spoke, her voice very soft. "I just don't want to screw anything up."

Sandy leaned closer. "What did you say?"

Andi spoke up only the slightest bit. "I just don't want to screw anything up. Lord knows I've done _that_ enough times."

Andi could almost see the light bulb flash in Sandy's head. She sat up straight and tall, a big grin forming on her face. "You're getting back with Toby. You are. Don't lie to me."

"Yeah."

"Oh just tell me the truth already!" Sandy sped straight on ahead. She stopped to think about it for a moment. "Did you just say 'yeah'?"

"See, sometimes if I slam on the brakes, you just keep right on going."

"You're so much like him, Andi."

"I am not!"

"You are. That line? Pure Toby."

"We were married for two years, Sandy. Sometimes I talk like him."

"Wait. You mean to tell me you were married for two years? But you're not anymore? But now you're getting back together? How could I have missed that?"

"Maybe 'getting back together' isn't quite the right phrase."

"But you've been seeing him?"

"He invited me to a state dinner."

"And?"

"And over to his house afterwards."

"Oh boy, here we go again."

"Again? We haven't done this since we got divorced!"

"Oh, and 'since we got divorced' isn't enough to justify 'again'?"

"I don't know." Andi's speech had morphed from defensive to somber. "I don't know. Maybe I missed something too. It was just… We see each other sometimes. Not like 'see each other' see each other, but sometimes we run into each other, you know? The White House will ask the opinion of one pinko-commie-liberal representative to make themselves feel better about alienating the party's center. Or they're just dying to know what the third-ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Relations thinks about a new policy initiative…" She stopped for a moment. "Clearly, they're mocking me."

"That's not mocking," Sandy attempted to reassure her. "They just know if they ask you to come meet with them, you will." She grinned. "And you always do, don't you?"

Now how was she supposed to answer that?

"We yell, Sandy." She took a breath. "We yell, and we fight. Loudly. All the time, we fight."

"I think I knew that."

"It's just…" Andi's voice trailed off.

"I think I knew that too."

  


**~*~ October ~*~**

Being in the White House still intimidated her. It was one of those things she couldn't quite explain. She was a member of the U.S. Congress. She had met with foreign dignitaries and famous people – the rich, the powerful – on her own merit. Besides, the people that worked here were her friends.

"Andi! Hey! Give him hell for me, okay?" CJ stopped long enough to smile warmly before continuing on the way to her office.

Friends. These were her friends. She'd ridden the campaign bus, spending late nights laughing with CJ about everything from Lyndon LaRouche press releases to commercials for some crazy new brand of shampoo. She'd listened patiently as Sam read drafts of policy statements, doing her best to help lessen the wrath of Toby later on. She'd cheered with Josh after one particularly glorious Bartlet finish in a debate. She'd even been to dinner with the President and the First Lady a couple times, and taken Annie to a figure skating show.

But the White House? Still a little creepy.

Although she knew the way by heart, she let an intern lead her to Toby's office.

He was leaning back in his chair, feet perched on the desk, idly chewing on a toothpick. "You made an appointment?" was his greeting.

"I usually make an appointment." She nudged the door shut behind her. Toby followed it with his eyes.

"And yet, you're remarkably calm," he observed. "When you make an appointment, it usually involves something I wrote. Also, screaming."

"Um… it doesn't. Not today."

She had dreamed of telling him this news so many million times. _Toby, we're pregnant. Toby, we did it. Toby, I love you. Toby, I'm going to have a baby._ She'd just never dreamed of it being now. They were over. This defied all logic. After all those things? Doing everything just right? And yet, in this crazy world, all it took was one random night?

She took a step closer to Toby's desk. He seemed to have sensed her concern. He looked at her expectantly.

"Toby?" She couldn't believe how distant her voice sounded.

She looked at the gold band still glimmering on his left ring finger. _Toby, Toby, Toby…_

"Andi?" He rose from his chair, moving toward her. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm pregnant. I'm… we're… going to have a baby."

He stopped dead in his path.

"Actually, two babies. Twins."

And Toby Ziegler, White House Communications Director, master of words, stood speechless.

She took his right hand and held it between both of hers. The action seemed to snap him back from whatever far-off place his mind had drifted to.

"Uh… are you okay?" he asked lamely. "Uh.. sit down. Please." He moved away from his own chair and offered it to her.

"Toby, you have lots of chairs… and a couch… I don't need yours." She sat down on the couch. He seemed to be pondering where he should sit, finally settling on the other end, leaving one cushion between the two of them.

"Andi-"

"Toby-"

They stopped.

"Let me go." Toby spoke first.

"Okay."

"Are… are you sure?"

"Yeah, Toby, I'm sure."

"And you're sure nothing's going to…" He stopped mid-sentence, mouth open for a moment. "Nothing's going to… not work?"

"Well, previous experience seems to indicate that we shouldn't rule out that possibility."

"Did you… plan this? Was this something with doctors and freezers and… things I don't particularly feel like talking about in the White House?"

"Toby, we got divorced. There was a reason. I wouldn't do that."

"But there are plenty of things the both of us will do besides that, even though we got divorced…" His voice trailed off. He did not sound angry, but she couldn't quite tell what he was thinking.

She was dangerously close to crying. 

Apparently, her inability to divine her ex-husband's thoughts was not a shared condition. Toby seemed to be able to tell exactly what she was thinking. "Andi, we can handle this. We'll get remarried, we'll go to the very best doctors… everything will be fine." He moved next to her and hugged her awkwardly. She didn't push him away.

It was a short embrace. He got up and returned to his desk. "Why did you come to my office? We could have… You could have come over to my apartment. After work. Not during work."

"Mmm, because I love Toby's apartment…" She rolled her eyes.

"Andi."

"I knew if I came here, I would be less likely to cry." She stood up and reached for the door. "I have a four o'clock meeting with Fister and O'Malley. I'll call you tonight, okay?"

She made her way out of Toby's office, feeling his eyes on her as she walked through the communications bullpen.

"Congresswoman Wyatt!" She turned at the sound of Sam's upbeat voice.

"Samuel Seaborn," she replied, trying to muster an equal level of enthusiasm.

"I'd love your opinion on some of these new education initiatives!"

"I promise I'll look at them sometime, Sam. Right now I have to get to a meeting."

Sam followed her as she walked toward the lobby, a concerned look on his face. "Andi, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, Sam. Everything's fine."

_Except that actually, it's the exact opposite of fine._

  


**~*~ January ~*~**

Babies were _heavy_. That was one of those blatantly obvious things that had never occurred to her before. She felt like she was dragging a sack of rocks up the three stairs that led to the front door of her house. In all that time, when all she'd thought about was how desperately she'd wanted children, she never moved past that to thinking about actually having them. It had always been one of those things that never managed to make its way past a dream.

_No shit, Sherlock._

Had she moved beyond dreaming, it would only have made matters worse, and at the time, matters were bad enough on their own.

She fumbled with the key, finally succeeding in opening the door. She flung her purse on the coffee table, went to the kitchen, and rummaged through the freezer to unearth a brand new carton of chocolate chip ice cream. She grabbed a spoon out of the dishwasher, returned to the living room, and fell dramatically onto the couch, exhausted. She wriggled her sore feet into a lump of blanket left haphazardly on the couch and opened the carton.

What was she doing, anyway? What made her think she could do this on her own? Her house was disturbingly quiet, and as comforting as a worn blanket and chocolate chip ice cream were, this was seeming like a Very Bad Idea.

Like it had ever even been an idea. "Today we're going to make a baby"? "This time, despite all those other times"? _Yeah, right._

She'd required herself to stop thinking about the science. The doctor couldn't even explain it, unless you were the kind of person who counted "sometimes, things just happen" as an explanation. And she was pretty sure she wasn't that kind of person.

Toby wanted her to marry him again. He had asked her six times now, and each time she'd said no. Logically, if the opposite of _this_ had been why they'd gotten divorced, she figured she probably ought to go ahead and say yes. But she wasn't entirely convinced that was really why they'd gotten divorced in the first place, despite what she might have told her friends.

Their inability to conceive… no, conceive was the wrong word. There had been a couple of conceptions. Conceptions meant miscarriages. Their inability to have children – there was no more eloquent way to put it – seemed like a good, straightforward thing to tell people. Even the Maryland press trod lightly with that story.

Why in the world was that a _good _story? Breaking up over babies? It was nonsensical. Why, then, was it so much easier to accept than the truth?

Maybe because the truth was such a nebulous idea. There had been yelling. There had been long nights and early mornings. There had been this man, whom she loved so dearly but just couldn't live with. And the babies… that had been there too. Big things like divorce didn't happen for just one reason – they were complicated, multi-faceted, blooming, buzzing things.

And remarriage? That was an even bigger thing.

When she stopped to look down at the ice cream carton, she realized that it was half empty. She sighed, and pulled the sack of rocks wearily up off the couch.

_Not yet, Toby. I don't have a good reason yet._

And then there was the whole matter of working, she thought as she returned the carton to the freezer and cleaned the spoon in the sink. As if it weren't hard enough being female in the U.S. House of Representatives, having to deal with this? Sure, the other women were supportive. Most of them had children of their own, and some of them wanted nothing more than to offer her all kinds of advice. The men were, by and large, supportive too. But they looked at her. Everybody always _looked_ at her.

Pregnancy, it seemed, still counted as a weakness. It didn't matter that there had been a lawsuit in front of the Supreme Court in 1974, or that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed in 1978. Legally, nothing held her back, but culturally, the fence was high. The funny thing was, though – she was having a hard time arguing against it. She _felt_ weak. The marathon floor debates that used to leave her invigorated and excited now wore her to the ground. The walk from her parked car to her office was a difficult ordeal. And then there was the having to go to the bathroom all the damn time…

So when the Honorable Representative Caminieki from Missouri offered her his arm in the hall, Andi took it and leaned heavily on him, cursing herself the entire walk. And when the Honorable Representative Baxter from California suggested seven different exercises to guarantee a successful pregnancy, Andi nodded and smiled and made a mental note of the advice, feeling unbelievably gullible and stupid for being so nervous about this whole thing.

Her staff looked out for her, of course. She was nothing but grateful for the extra work they were doing.

She looked at the now-clean spoon she still held in her hand.

But damn it, she was tired of being that woman.

**~*~ March ~*~**

"This cake has ducks." CJ was clearly quite proud of herself as she brought the cake into Andi's living room. "Two ducks. For two babies. Aren't they great?"

"They're… ducks," was Andi's reply. She watched as the cake was placed in front of her. It was frosted with pale yellow frosting and, in addition to the ducks, 'Congratulations, Andrea!' was written in pink script across the top.

CJ looked wounded. "You don't like the ducks?"

"I love the ducks. You are all amazing. I can't believe you did this."

She really couldn't. CJ and Sandy had conspired to put together a baby shower, incorporating her friends from the Bartlet administration as well as those from her own office.

"It's amazing how easy it is to get the men to cooperate when you promise them they won't have to come to the shower." Donna entered from the kitchen, carrying a stack of paper plates and plastic forks.

"Getting Toby and Will to come in on a Sunday, though?" came CJ's response. "That was pure genius, and it was all Donna."

Donna's face turned scarlet. "Oh, but these guys did all the rest…" Her voice trailed off.

Toby had called Andi the night before, asking if she would come to the White House on Sunday and help his new assistant Will put together a response to the unveiling of the House budget proposal. She had been a little bit surprised that the now-overprotective Toby was asking her to come in on a Sunday, but she chalked that up to the seriousness of the remarks.

When she got there, Will had been waiting, and true to form, they had worked on the response for several hours. She returned home, a little tired but still in a pleasant mood, only to find her house completely transformed. Streamers were draped over her front door and a paper pair of baby booties had replaced her floral wreath. She entered the house to a loud "Surprise!" and was quickly swept into the giggling group of friends.

But they were starting to drive her a little bit crazy.

CJ was practically giddy – for someone who swore she'd never be a mother, she sure was excited about these babies. Donna was pretty wired as well. Andi could sense that the two of them had spent many a lunch hour talking about her – she imagined them on the lookout as they did, making sure that Toby didn't catch them. Andi's press secretary, Jennifer, was chattering away with a circle of the other ladies in attendance. They had even gotten some of the staff assistants from the White House there, and Sandy had rounded up some of their college girlfriends. Sandy was serving as some kind of baby shower cruise director, pointing people toward the kitchen table to add their presents to the pile, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention so they could start another game.

And the games they played at baby showers? This was a room full of single women. Andi could not for the life of her figure out how they knew so many ridiculous games. Melted chocolate on diapers? Something involving clothespins and saying the word "baby"? (She was pretty sure she was losing that one.) There was only so much silliness she could handle.

Though she had to admit she'd laughed at the suggestion that the twins be named Jed and Abbey.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Abigail Bartlet breezed into the house. "Hello, ladies! There are a couple of agents coming in right behind me, just so you know. Yes, they're men, but they know their place." 

Andi rose to greet the First Lady, but Abbey was faster, pushing her gently back down to the couch.

"No need to stand up." Abbey's voice was clear and sparkled with happiness, due, Andi suspected, to being the only one in the room who'd ever done this motherhood thing before. She gave Andi a kiss on the cheek before making her way to the kitchen to add her gift to the stack.

"Oh, look!" Abbey exclaimed upon returning to the living room. "There are ducks on the cake!"

CJ grinned broadly. Andi sighed, a gesture that Abbey picked up on immediately.

"All right, girls. This looks like great fun, but I think Andrea here could use a break. We're going to go…" She paused to look around the room. "Andi, is there someplace we could go?"

"Um, sure. There's a guest room down the hall." One of the Secret Service agents started toward the guest room. "I'm fine though, really." 

"Nonsense." Abbey extended a hand to help Andi up off the couch. "CJ?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"We'll do presents as soon as we get back?"

CJ's smile returned. "Absolutely."

Andi led the first lady into her guest bedroom. "I'm fine, Abbey, really," she informed her after closing the door.

"You said that once already," was Abbey's reply.

"It's still true."

"You looked like you were about to strangle CJ, Andi, and I can assure you my husband wouldn't like that very much."

"I guess you caught me. This is fun, really. It's great. I can't believe they put it all together."

"All these giggling girls are a little bit much sometimes, aren't they?" Abbey wasn't going to let her out of this. "At least all your friends aren't medical professionals."

Andi laughed. "I suppose that's true." She stopped for a moment. She had settled herself on the large guest bed, back against the headboard, legs spread out on the bed, a position that was incredibly comfortable but made her feel decidedly like a beached whale. "I don't understand why they're so excited about my babies, though."

Abbey was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, legs tucked up underneath her. "Ah, it seems that babies have a way of becoming communal property before you've even had a chance to name them."

"They're working on that too."

"Oh, don't tell me they're making you play that game?"

"Yeah."

"You have to wonder where people come up with these things, don't you?"

"No kidding."

The First Lady swiftly changed the subject. "Andi?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Oh for heaven's sake. Right now? I'm Abbey."

"Right. Yes, Abbey?"

"Toby has been driving himself crazy trying to come up with ways to get you to marry him. Are you going to do it?"

_Damn. Caught._ "I… I don't know." She expected a response from Abbey, but when none came, she opted to just keep talking. "We were married for two years. It didn't work. I just don't know – are children enough to make it work this time? Should they be?"

Abbey nodded slightly, more in acknowledgement than agreement, it seemed, but continued to say nothing.

"There should be reasons for these things. Toby seems to be focused on getting rid of reasons why we shouldn't get married, but I'm still looking for reasons why we should."

"Do you love him, Andi?" the first lady asked gently.

"I do. Of course I do. But that wasn't enough the first time around…" She let her voice die out. "Listen, this isn't the best time for this, okay? There's a cake out there with my name on it."

"Also ducks."

"Right, also ducks."

Abbey again offered Andi her hand, and Andi again accepted the help in rising from the bed. She led the way back to the living room, where CJ and Jennifer seemed to be exchanging press secretary battle scars.

"And you would not believe these ridiculous legal fights we're dealing with! It's not like she's lost her mental capacity or anything!" Jennifer's excitement was evident by her wildly waving hands. Jennifer spoke as much with her body as her mouth.

"Ridiculous legal fights? I think I can tell you a little something about those," CJ challenged.

Donna was the first one to notice Andi's return. "She's back! It's time for presents!"

And Andi smiled, grateful for her friends and just a teensy bit excited about what all those gift bags held inside.

**~*~ April ~*~**

"So they shot at you yesterday, huh?" She lay on her bed, with Toby sitting at the end, massaging her feet.

"I try not to think of it as them shooting at me personally."

"Oh, but it's so much more fun that way."

Toby's response was unintelligible.

"Come on, Pokey, I'm just kidding. I'm glad everyone's okay. And I'm glad they finally let you out of the White House, if you know what I mean."

"You just wanted to be certain of your foot rub."

"Mmm… I would reach down there and give you a kiss, but that would seriously require too much effort right now."

He made a move to kiss her.

"No! Back on the feet!"

"Yes, Congresswoman Wyatt."

"That's right." She waited, curious, for his next words. Sooner or later, she figured he would ask her to marry him again. _Toby, you don't want to be a grown man; you don't want to live in a house and help cook meals for a family. Toby, you're too busy at your job. Toby, we can't live together. Toby, we fight over everything. Toby, we're just too different._

He never asked.

They talked about politics, about some old friend who'd asked Toby to save his ass from prosecution. They talked about the failed lawsuits and the _Washington Post_ poll saying at least sixty-five percent of her district would vote for her again if the election were tomorrow. They talked about the President's approval ratings, the capital gains tax, the Minority Leader. They even granted themselves a good thirty-six minutes of bickering over baby names. But when she fell asleep on his shoulder, not knowing how many hours later, the subject of why they couldn't get married never came up.

She was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing.

  


**~*~ May ~*~**

A slight shuffling noise awakened her, and she took a moment to refamiliarize herself with the hospital room. She opened her eyes to see a nurse straightening a few indistinguishable items on the countertop. Light was streaming in through the room's little window. She wasn't sure what time it was, but figured it must be early.

_Someday, someone is going to ask me what right now feels like._

She thought about it, and she was quite certain it wasn't something she could ever adequately describe. She felt… warm. It was a warm feeling, full of tenderness, love, and indescribable joy. And maybe just a small hint of panic.

The nurse noticed that she was no longer sleeping. "Hi there, Congresswoman! How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Andi replied, figuring she could spare the nurse her emotional ramblings. "How are – "

"Huck and Molly? They're doing well. Not fussing much at all. Would you like me to bring them in?"

"Please."

_My babies. She's going to get my babies._ Andi felt another wave of warmth rushing over her. _Our babies_, she corrected herself. She might not have agreed to marry him, but Toby was going to be the father to these children. No doubt about that.

Poor Toby. What a time he must be having. What a time the whole world must be having.

She mused over her current insulation from the world. Toby had been in her room when his pager went off, so she learned at the same time he did of Zoey's kidnapping. He'd held her hand tightly, two new parents trying to assure each other that nothing like that would ever happen to their babies. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, watching the television in the corner of the room, which was tuned to CNN's non-stop coverage of the events in Georgetown. They both knew he had to get back to the White House, and she was feeling pretty worn out. She fell asleep, hand in his, just as CJ took the podium for her first briefing. She didn't know exactly when he'd left, but she was certain it was soon after that.

He had returned again a few hours later. She'd been awake for a little bit, and the nurse had just come to whisk the twins away again when he arrived. He told her the details he knew of the situation in the White House, and the decision to name the baby girl Molly had been an easy one. _Huck and Molly. Beautiful._ They hadn't yet decided what their last names would be. An issue for another time, she thought. She fell asleep again soon after, and when she awoke this time he was gone as well.

Two nurses returned a few minutes later, one carrying Molly and the other carrying Huck. CNN was still playing in the corner, but the volume had been muted and Andi didn't ask that it be turned back on. She rose slowly to prop herself up against the headboard of her bed. The nurses helped her arrange one baby in each arm – a challenge, but one she figured she'd have to get used to.

"Hi, Molly. Hi, Huck," she whispered. Neither baby made a sound. Molly kicked her foot just the slightest bit. Andi wasn't quite sure what to do. "You two picked quite the day to be born, you know that?" Molly kicked again. Andi straightened her daughter's sock. "Is that better?" she inquired. They were so quiet. Everything she'd read told her not to expect much more of that. So she sat, holding her son and daughter, and feeling like today, despite everything else, was the best day of her life.

"Congresswoman?" One of the nurses poked her head in, interrupting Andi's thoughts. "There's a telephone call for you. Can I ring it through?"

Andi looked down and laughed. "I think I'm going to need a little bit of help for that."

"Here, let me take one." The nurse carefully picked up Huck and went back out to her desk to transfer the call.

When the phone rang, Andi was able to reach the receiver and bring it to her ear. "Hello?"

"AndiAndiAndiAndiAndi!" Andi could imagine Jennifer on the other end of the line, arms flying in excitement.

"Hi, Jennifer."

"How are they? How are you? How is Toby? I can't believe what's happened today. I bet Toby's hardly been in at all. But you can't worry about that. This is your day, Andi. Babies! What are their names? I'm so excited for you!" Jennifer was talking a hundred miles per hour.

"Whoa, there. I can't keep up with you!"

"Sorry," Jennifer apologized, with a hint of impatience in her voice.

"I'm fine, and the babies are fine. Their names are Huck and Molly. Six pounds, one ounce each." As Andi spoke, Molly began to fuss. Andi bounced her ever so slightly in her arm. "That was Molly. She says hi."

"Hi, Molly! What a beautiful name! But what about Toby? I watched CNN until like two – the White House must be a mess."

"Honestly, Jennifer, I don't know much more than you do. Toby's hanging in there. I think that's all we can expect of him."

"I guess. Listen, we need to do a story. It's my job."

"About Zoey?"

"No, no, no! About you!"

"Ugh. They're here, they're alive, I'm alive… go ahead and release their names… what else do you need?"

"Well, I got a call from Ralph Tripp at _The Hill_. He wants a brief article and a picture. I think it should go to a local paper first though. Show you're committed to your constituents before the congress."

"Whatever. You want a picture?"

"I know, I know. You'll be in the hospital at least another day, right? We could put just a little bit of make-up on, go for the exhausted-but-happy new mother look. Put your hair up nicely. You sitting in the hospital bed, holding both babies. Huck in blue, Molly in pink…"

"Wait a minute," Andi interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"It appears my press secretary has vanished, and I've been given a fashion consultant in her absence."

"I'm sorry, Andi. I know this isn't your thing. But publicity's important. Smile nicely once, and then it's over with. Can I bring in a photographer sometime tomorrow?"

"I suppose I could handle that."

"And we'll put together a statement. 'Congresswoman Wyatt thanks the people of Maryland for their support and hopes they share in her joy…' Maybe not. 'Representative Andrea Wyatt welcomed twin babies today…' Anyway, we'll work something out."

"Sounds good, Jennifer. Thanks for doing your job."

"You're welcome! Now do I have to wait until then to see the babies?"

Andi laughed. "I'm up. I'm sure Toby will be by soon. You're more than welcome to come visit."

"Great! I'll be right over! I'm gonna try and grab Sandy too!" In her excitement, Jennifer was off the phone without remembering to say goodbye.

"Are there visiting hours here?" Andi asked the nurse, who was in the process of returning Huck to his mother's arm.

"Technically, yes. We'll work something out though. We get a lot of politicians in here, and I know your schedules are far from normal."

"Especially the ones at the White House?"

"Yeah, especially those. I'll be back in an hour, unless you need me sooner, okay?" The nurse allowed the door to shut most of the way as she left.

Andi glanced briefly at the television before returning her attention to her son and daughter. They had just cut to a full-screen photograph of Glenn Walken. She thought about throwing something at the television, but realized quickly that to do so would require a free arm. The Speaker of the House made her blood boil – any time she tried to do anything he would accuse her of being a puppet of the Bartlet administration. Like she'd ever let Toby tell her what to do. She wondered what stunt Walken would dare pull with the situation in the White House being what it was.

Huck wriggled ever so slightly.

_Really… who needs the news?_

*

Twenty minutes later, there was still no sign of Jennifer and Sandy, but Toby had returned. Following closely behind him was a grinning CJ.

"I have a half an hour," CJ informed them as she made her way to Andi's side. "They are absolutely beautiful! Can I hold one? Please?"

"Here, take Molly," Andi offered. "Make sure you support her head."

"Oh, look! This bag!" CJ exclaimed, apparently reminding herself of the fact that she already had something in her hand. "I almost forgot – I brought presents!"

"CJ, you've already gotten them plenty of presents," Andi replied.

"I know." CJ looked genuinely apologetic for a brief moment, but the expression quickly dissolved into a playful smile. "It's just, every time I go to the store, I find more cute things." She turned her attention to the baby. "Look, Molly, you've got a little white jumper decorated with strawberries. And matching shoes! You probably don't want shoes just yet, though, do you? I think you'll probably be fine with these little socks for a while." She turned back to Andi, as though giving an aside to an audience, to say, "Baby shoes. You can't get much cuter than baby shoes."

Andi smiled reluctantly.

Huck whimpered a little bit.

"Oh, don't you worry," CJ continued, directing her attention to the other baby. "You get a little green jumper with a giraffe on it. And little brown sandals. But right now, I'm going to hold your sister, okay?" CJ took Molly from Andi's arm.

"Seriously, CJ, you can't keep buying them all these things." Andi looked worried.

"Oh come on, Andi. Let me the cool aunt. You know I'm not going to have any kids of my own." CJ looked to Molly, who was being rocked gently in her arms. "I'm going to be your very coolest aunt, Molly. Look out, world, here comes Aunt CJ."

"You do realize you aren't actually related to them, right?" Toby reminded her.

"Close enough," CJ replied. "Best friends always get to be honorary aunts and uncles."

Andi laughed, and she thought she even saw Toby's scowl lessen. It was hard not to be happy when CJ was this excited.

Toby came over and took Andi's hand.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it over here," Andi told him. "Have you slept at all?"

CJ looked up, her finger firmly grasped in Molly's little fist. "No! And getting here was just as much of a pain in the ass as it looks like it might be. Walken's declared that the press get no new information until the one o'clock briefing, no matter what happens. They're spitting mad, he won't let me do anything, and yet he still wants me there all the time."

Andi frowned. "Wait. Back up a minute. What does Glenn Walken have to do with anything?"

CJ looked incredulous. "You didn't hear? Toby, you didn't tell her?"

"When would I have told her?" Toby asked. "Andi, you haven't been watching the news?"

"Of course I haven't been watching the news! It's barely seven am. I've been sleeping, and watching my daughter and son! Now would somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Toby took a breath. CJ looked on, still rocking Molly but with a rather distraught look on her face. "Andi," Toby began, "there's kind of a thing. You know about the twenty-fifth amendment, right?"

_Patronizing Toby_, Andi thought. She'd gone to law school just like the rest of them – of course she knew the twenty-fifth amendment. Then it clicked to her what the twenty-fifth amendment said, and the phrasing of the question suddenly became irrelevant. "Presidential succession." Her mind was racing. "Oh my God."

"Listen, a president can't run the country when he's worried about whether his daughter is alive or dead. Jed Bartlet is a smart man, and twenty-five allows him to temporarily remove himself from power."

"Damn it!" Andi exclaimed. "He gave the presidency to Glenn Walken?"

CJ nodded. "He's next in line. I just hope he'll give it back when this mess is over."

"Damn it!" Andi was having trouble thinking of a more intelligent response. "Toby, how could he do this?"

"How could he not?" Toby replied softly, as he gazed at Huck with an unreadable expression on his face.

Just then, a nurse poked her head into the room. "Congresswoman? There's another call for you."

"Go ahead and put it through."

"Yes, ma'am."

Andi shifted Huck to her left arm and picked up the phone.

"They won't let us in!" Jennifer sounded a bit frantic.

"What do you mean they won't let you in?"

"It's not visiting hours! They won't let us in!"

"They told me they'd work something out."

"Yeah, well, they didn't."

"Toby and CJ are up here…"

"Okay. That's nice. We aren't."

"Jennifer. Settle down. I'll have Toby go down there. I'll see you in a few minutes, okay?"

"I sure hope so!"

Andi hung up the phone. "Toby?" she asked. "Apparently Jennifer and Sandy are stuck down there. Could you talk to someone and see about getting them in?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." Toby left the room.

Molly had started to cry as soon as the phone rang. CJ was trying to calm her but looking a little panicked. "Um, Andi? Will you take her back please?"

Andi chuckled. "Cool aunt, huh?"

"That's why I get to be the aunt and not the mother. I can give them back." CJ placed Molly back in Andi's arm.

Molly's crying had caused Huck to fret again, and Andi did her best to soothe them. It didn't seem to be working. "So Toby was serious there?" Andi asked CJ. "Walken's really the president?"

"Yeah." CJ paused. "Yeah. …I don't know how long I'll be able to deal with this. And Danny Concannon has this other story, and it can't possibly be good…" She took a deep breath. "I'm thinking about resigning," she confessed.

"You wouldn't."

"I'm not even joking."

"I know it must be tough. I've never been able to stand that man, but – "

CJ interrupted Andi's attempt at reassurance. "I can't imagine why not. Not only is he a Republican, he's got a misogynistic streak like no other. I think the only reason he closed down the press room is because I'm in charge of it."

"Oh, CJ, I'm sure that's not true."

"It's just so frustrating," CJ replied, looking at the floor.

Molly had quieted somewhat, but both babies were still fussing. "I think I'm going to be learning a lot about frustration here," Andi noted.

"But just think, whenever you get stressed out, you can just go buy them more clothes." Brooding had never been CJ's style.

Another nurse entered the room. "Need some help?" she asked Andi.

"I don't know what's wrong," Andi replied.

"You'll learn," the nurse reassured her. "Let me check on their diapers." She extracted the babies from Andi's arms and moved to leave, but Toby returned at just that moment, with Jennifer and Sandy following closely behind. Both women hurried over to Andi, embracing her warmly in turn.

Huck took this opportunity to start wailing, so the nurse hurried to make her exit, which proved a bit of a challenge in the crowded room. "We'll be right back," she promised.

Sandy turned to CJ and Toby. "How's the White House?" she inquired.

CJ looked down at her watch. "I have to be back there in five minutes."

Toby glanced at her. "You do?"

"Sorry," CJ replied sheepishly.

"Well," Toby answered Sandy, "we're hanging in there. It's going to be a long night." He wandered to Andi's side and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'll come back as soon as I can, all right?"

Andi kissed him back. "Good luck, you two. Don't let him get you down, CJ. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Hopefully I'll be back here later too," CJ told her. She and Toby made their way to the door.

"Thanks for the clothes, CJ," Andi called after them.

"I'm sure there will be more!" came CJ's bright reply.

Toby waited in the doorframe for an extra moment. "Andi?"

"Yeah, Toby?"

His words were barely audible, but Andi was certain they'd been "I love you." He briefly touched his hand to his heart and then moved to leave.

"I love you too."

That much she knew was true.

As Toby left, Sandy and Jennifer grabbed chairs, each settling on one side of Andi's bed.

"So, tell us about your day," Sandy commanded.

"Well," Andi began, "their names are Huck and Molly…"

The nurse came back with two quieted babies. Andi held them in her arms, and before long both fell asleep to the cadence of their mother's voice.

Andi didn't know what the next day would bring. The president's daughter had been kidnapped and one of Andi's biggest political enemies was now running the country. Toby had bought her a house, and they'd certainly have to talk about that. And before long, she'd have to take care of two newborns, without the convenient set-up of the hospital. But for the moment, she held these two beautiful babies in her arms, and two of her friends sat beside her. Her other friends would take care of the country. Toby would be back soon.

_Maybe you don't always need a reason for everything._

**The End**


End file.
